A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to compositions that can be used to improve the skin's visual appearance. In one particular aspect, the composition includes a combination of palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7, methylsilanol mannuronate, Lactobacillus ferment, and plant extracts from Punica granatum, Castanea sativa, Gossypium hirsutum, and Euterpe oleracea. However, other skin active ingredients and formulations and combinations are contemplated throughout this specification.
B. Description of Related Art
With ageing, chronic exposure to adverse environmental factors, or malnutrition, the visual appearance, physical properties, and physiological functions of skin can change in ways that are considered visually undesirable. The most notable and obvious changes include the development of fine lines and wrinkles, loss of elasticity, increased sagging, loss of firmness, loss of color evenness or tone, coarse surface texture, and mottled pigmentation. Less obvious, but measurable changes which occur as skin ages or endures chronic environmental insult include a general reduction in cellular and tissue vitality, reduction in cell replication rates, reduced cutaneous blood flow, reduced moisture content, accumulated errors in structure and function, alterations in the normal regulation of common biochemical pathways, and a reduction in the skin's ability to remodel and repair itself. Many of the alterations in appearance and function of the skin are caused by changes in the outer epidermal layer of the skin, while others are caused by changes in the lower dermis.
One problem associated with existing skin care products is that they tend to focus on a particular skin condition without consideration of other skin conditions. This results in a user having to purchase several different products and apply several different products throughout the day to obtain the desired results. Further, the majority of such products are designed to be used throughout the daytime, which is a period of time that the skin is actively beings assaulted with caustic environmental factors such as UV light, pollution, chemicals, smoke, etc. Therefore, the skin may not be completely receptive to the benefits that a skin composition can provide.